Shadows In The Dark
by Luke427
Summary: What's wrong with Tom


Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager doesn't belong to me. Nor do any of the characters in this pathetic attempt of fanfic. I'm just borrowing them. Don't sue me please, I don't have any money.  
  
Warning: The rating is PG-13 to R. This story is my first attempt at fanfic. Please be gentle with it. If you have comment, suggestions, or even flames, I will listen. Please e-mail at Luke427@aol.com.  
  
Storyline: This is before Seven of Nine. Kes is in this story.  
  
Summary: Something is wrong with Tom and Harry and Chakotay are going to find out what it is.  
  
  
  
  
Shadows In The Dark  
  
By: Luke427  
  
  
Part 1  
  
"Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white. In between the moon and you the angels get a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right. Well I walk in the air between the rain through myself and back again where...I don't know. Maria says she's dying through the door I hear crying...why? I don't know. Round here we always stand up straight. Round here something radiates."  
  
"Tom, What are you doing?"  
  
A voice penetrated Tom's reverie. He stopped singing and sat up. The sounds of the holodeck seemed louder in the aftermath of silence.  
  
"Tom...I need to talk to you," said Harry.  
  
Tom didn't answer. He started singing once again. "Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand. She says she'd like to meet a boy looks like Elvis, She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land just like she's walking on a wire in the circus. She parks her car outside of my house and takes her clothes off.  
  
"Tom, you gotta talk to me!"  
  
Tom ignored him, hoping that he would. "Says she's close to understanding Jesus. And she knows she's more than just a little misunderstood. She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous. Round here we're carving out our names. Round here we all look the same. Round here we talk just like lions, but we sacrifice like lambs. Round here she's slipping through my hands.  
  
"You're gonna have to talk to me eventually, Tom." With those words, Harry stalked from the holodeck.  
  
Tome breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to talk to Harry right now, and he had sensed that Harry wouldn't push him to...right now. *I know later you'll be coming back, but maybe by then I'll have figured out more ways to avoid you.*  
  
***************  
  
Harry was so frustrated he wanted to scream. *Why won't he talk to me. I'm his best friend!* Harry was so angry that he didn't see where he was going...and he rammed right into Chakotay.  
  
"Whoa Harry! Where is the fire?"  
  
Harry looked up into the chocolate eyes of the older man. He opened his mouth to tell him to get out of the way, but quickly closed it. *Telling your commanding officer to piss off isn't exactly a good way to start the day.* Harry gave the commander a watery smile, "Sorry about the Commander. I'll watch where I'm going next time."  
  
"Wait." Harry stopped his getaway and turned around.  
  
"It might held if you talk about it. Is it about Tom?"  
  
"Yeah it is. I can't get him to talk to me about what happened to him. I thought we were best friends! He won't talk to B'Elanna or anyone. He spends all of his time with the doctor or in the holodeck. He won't tell anyone what happened to him while he was held captive."  
  
"Harry, Tom has been through a rough time. He might not be ready to talk to anyone yet, or he might already be talking to the Doctor about his problems."  
  
"But that's just it, he's not. Even the Doctor is complaining to the Captain that Tom should talk to someone."  
  
As if she heard them, a voice came from Chakotay and Harry's commbadges. "Harry and Chakotay please report to my Ready Room."  
  
***************  
  
Captain Janeway was not smiling when the two men entered her Ready Room. Without preamble she started right in, "Someone is going to have to talk to Tom. He can't hold his feelings in like this. I need my best pilot back at the helm."  
  
Harry sighed, "I've tried talking to him, but he just ignores me or runs away."  
  
The captain turned to Chakotay, "Commander, maybe if you go with Harry it would help. You and Tom have been getting along better these days. Maybe you and Harry can get him to talk.  
  
"We'll try Captain," the two men said in unison.  
  
***************  
  
Tom was still in the forest on the holodeck listening to music. He hadn't thought of more ways to avoid his friends. Staying in the peaceful forest and hiding out only worked if someone didn't say "end program."  
  
Tom was tired of being asked how he felt. He just wanted people to leave him alone. *First the Doctor, then B'Elanna, then Harry. Why can't they understand I don't want to talk about it. Next, Chakotay will want me to talk.*  
  
As is on cue, the doors to the holodeck opened, and harry and Chakotay walked in. Tom groaned and tapped his commbadge, "Computer, initiate site to site transport Paris One."  
  
As Tom disappeared Harry sighed, "We should have been more quiet."  
  
"Don't give up yet," said Chakotay. "Let's go to his quarters. We'll break in quietly and corner him."  
  
***************  
  
Hot water sprayed Tom's face as music blared in the background. Memories flashed in his mind, and he started to shake. *Stop it Tommy. You don't remember, you don't remember.* He willed the shaking to stop and got out of the shower. "Computer, turn off music." He took a deep breath of air, wrapped a towel around himself , and walked out of the bathroom...right into Chakotay.  
  
"Aaaah!" Tom screamed, dropped to the floor and rolled to his bed. He grabbed his phaser and pointed it at him.  
  
"Tom, Stop?" yelled Harry.  
  
Tom's eyes widened and he sighed in relief. "Chakotay, you scared the shit out of me. I didn't see you there." Tom dropped the phaser and got to his feet. "What are you two doing here. I thought you guys got the hint on the holodeck."  
  
"What is the matter with you? You almost hurt Chakotay!" Harry was pacing back and forth looking quite agitated. Chakotay was staring at Tom hard.  
  
Tom shoved past both of them and sat on the couch. Chakotay watched the perfect calm mask of Tom's face as he spoke. "But I didn't hurt him. You both startled me and I reacted. Now I think you both should leave and let me get some sleep. I'm going to talk to the Captain tomorrow about going back to work. Now, since I just solved the problem that you two wanted to talk to me about, you can leave.  
  
Chakotay walked slowly toward Tom, "That isn't what we wanted to talk to you about. We wanted to know what's going on with you. You don't eat, and you can't sleep without sleep aides.  
  
Tom gasped, "What are you, spying on me?" Tom looked from Chakotay to Harry. I'm just a little unsettled after my capture, and its taking me time to..."  
  
"No, you're not just unsettled," Harry interrupted. "You're scared, withdrawn, and not yourself. Tom, Just tell us what happened..."  
  
"Nothing happened! Didn't you see the medical report? No injuries whatsoever!"  
  
"The Brava were good at hiding the evidence, but they are not untraceable," Chakotay said quietly.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"The doctor found traces of your bones renitting themselves rapidly, and when you rolled to grab the phaser I saw the faded red marks. You also managed to get the Doctor not to scan all of you."  
  
"Get out," Tom said in a shaky voice.  
  
"Tom, we're your friends. We only want to help you," Harry pleaded.  
  
"I don't want your help! I'm fine! I just wanna forget..." Tom broke off into sobs.  
  
Chakotay and harry moved toward him, but Tom bolted to his feet warding them away with his hands. The towel fell away.  
  
Harry gasped and Tom looked down. He grabbed the towel and ran to the bathroom screaming, "Get out, get out, get out!"  
  
Harry shook his head and looked at Chakotay, "What did they do to him?"  
  
At that moment, they both heard a crash in the bathroom. Chakotay ran to the door with Harry at his heels. "Tom," Chakotay called out. "Tom!" They forced the doors open. Tom was lying on the floor, the mirror shattered, his knuckles bleeding from where he had hit the glass. "Oh God," Harry moaned. Tom was humming a mindless tune.  
  
Chakotay walked over to him and picked him up. Harry grabbed a washcloth and followed Chakotay to the bed. Chakotay silently placed Tom on the bed and covered him up with a blanket while Harry tried to stop the blood flowing from Tom's hand. Chakotay searched through Tom's night stand and found a dermal regenerator. He ran it over Tom's hand and watched the cuts melt away. All the while the mindless humming droned in the background.  
  
************************  
  
Harry and Chakotay decided to stay with Tom. They both slept on the couch. In the middle of the night, Tom woke up. He stared at the two sleeping men. *What happened?* In a flash, it all came back: his friends confronting him, his reactions, his mindless humming that just seemed to soothe him.   
  
*I need to get out of here.* Tom got up quietly and walked to his dresser and pulled out some sweats. *I can't let anyone see me.* As quietly as he could, Tom initiated a site to site transport to holodeck two. Luckily, no one was in there.   
  
"Computer, initiate program Paris Run."  
  
****************  
  
Harry was the first to wake up and notice his friend was gone. "Chakotay, wake up. Tom is gone."  
  
Chakotay snapped awake and took in the empty bed. "Computer, locate Tom Paris."  
  
The disembodied feminine voice said, "Tom Paris is in holodeck two."  
  
Chakotay and Harry immediately started out for holodeck two. When they got to the door, they were denied access.   
  
"He has top security codes locking us out," Chakotay said.  
  
"Maybe we should get Tuvok," Harry said.  
  
"No! We don't need to involve him. Between the two of us, we can break his security codes. I may not be as young as I used to be, but I still have some tricks left up my sleeve."  
  
****************  
  
Tom sweated with the effort of keeping a steady pace. He had been running for half an hour all ready, but he didn't want to stop. Running kept you from thinking, and thinking was the last thing that Tom wanted to do. If he did, he would have to pictures Harry's horrified face when he...saw him. *Your thinking Tom* He started to run faster.  
  
****************  
  
An hour later they broke all the codes that Tom had erected. "Even though it was only three codes, they were heavily encrypted," Chakotay said.   
  
"Somehow I get the feeling that wasn't his best work with encryptions," Harry replied.   
  
Without another word, they opened the holodeck doors and walked through. The program that was activated was nothing unusual. It was an overcast, cool day, perfect for running around a track at some obscure school. That was where the normality ended. The lone figure running on the track was clearly in pain. His outfit was drenched in sweat and the runner seemed to be half limping, half running.   
  
"You don't think he's been running this whole time do you?" Harry said softly.  
  
"I do," came the equally soft reply.  
  
Tom couldn't do. He just had to stop. As he collapsed to the floor he gritted out "End program." He looked up to see his colleagues standing over him. He smiled weakly and said, "So, you guys do have a few tricks up your sleeve." Then his face went gray and he started convulsing.   
  
Chakotay tapped his commbadge and yelled, "Three to beam directly to sickbay.  
  
****************  
  
Luckily, the Doctor was on when the three men appeared out of no where. The Doctor took in Tom's appearance and immediately went into action.   
  
"Put him on the biobed!" He then ordered the two me out and called up Kes to come assist him. Five minutes later, Kes was in the room and ready to help the Doctor. The Doctor looked over and saw Harry and Chakotay still standing there.  
  
"Gentlemen, please go to the waiting room. Now!"  
  
The two men reluctantly left the room. Chakotay called the Captain and apprised her of the situation. She promised to come right down. Now all they could do was wait.  
  
****************  
  
TBC-I know that I haven't been paying attention to this story, but I'm kinda stuck.   
Don't expect another part anytime soon. I'm revamping all my other stories as well.  
  
  
  



End file.
